Excel Tip: Using Paste Special to Perform Simple Calculations

You can perform a simple calculation (division, multiplication, addition, or subtraction) on a list of numbers without the need to write formulas. Is this possible?!

With Paste Special tool in Excel, you can copy-paste any value to one or more values using a mathematical operation. Hence, the outcome in the cell is the result of the operation.

In this list of packages, the weights are all in LB. You just need to convert each package’s weight to KG. Well, there are many techniques to do that, however, to me, the simplest one is by following these steps:

Write the conversion factor (LB to KG, 0.4536) somewhere in the sheet.

Copy the value you typed, select the range of values you need to convert, and then right-click to select Paste Special.

In the ‘Operation’ group, select ‘Multiply’ (as you need to multiply each package’s weight value by the conversion factor to convert it into KG). Hit OK

You’re done. The weights are all converted into KG without the need to write any formula on the sheet, and without using extra columns to perform the calculation process.